Walking beam bearing and hanger



Jan. 30, 1940. w. c. TROUT El AL WALKING BEAM BEARINQ AND HANGER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 3mm WCTROUT EMTOLLE Filed Jan. 11, 1937 Jan. 30, 1940. TROUT ETAL 2,188,583

WALKING BEAM BEARING AND HANGER Filed Jan 11, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 h V w 1 f gvwcwtm WGTROUT EMTDLLEFSON Momma/up Jan. 30, 1940.

w. c. TRop'r ET AL' WALKING BEAM BEARING AND HANGER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ed Jan. 11, 1937 art-Mm W Jan. 30, 1940.

WALKING BEAM BEARING AND HANGER Filed Jan. 11, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Figgfl. wcTR ITT 65 8 EIVLTOLLEFSON.

\ H (Film w. c. TROUT El AL 2,188,583 8 Jan. 30, w, Q TROUT E AL WALKING BEAM BEARING AND HANGER Filed Jan. 11, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 5 r gwucmloo W.C.TROUT EPLTOLLE FSON.

Patented Jan. 30, 1940 WALKING BEAM BEARING. AND HANGER j" A Walter G. Trout ails Ernest M. Tollefson, Luf- V kin, Tex assigno'rs to Lufkin Foundry &"Maj

; "chine Company, a corporation of Texas i H Applieationtlanuaxygll, 1937, Serial No. 120,048. 17 oiaiifiis." (Cl. 308%21) I I p be "readily apparent when" the following descrip- The invention relates to the construction. and I arrangement of an apparatus for use in pumpin wells.

In the pumping of wells it is necessary. of course, to effect a reciprocating action .of the string of rods and the pump in the well iand, inasmuch as it has been found impracticable to connect the source of power directtothe string of sucker rods or the polishrod at the upper end thereof, it is necessary thatpivotal' connections be made with the various apparatus in order to transmit.v the power'from. itssource to the polish rod. To. transpose the rotating action of the power .unitfto the reciprocating action of the polishrod necessitates pivotal connections which must have substantially auniversal movement because of the misalignment of theparts and the variations whicnoccurdu It is one of the objects of the presentrinven'e' tion to provide a bearing connection-for pumping equipment. Another object of the invention is .to provide a substantial connection between ,.theqpitman rod of the pumping unit and the walkingbeam or the pumping jack to which the pitman js onne edv y 11.1

Another object of the inventionis ,to provide. a suitable bearing connection between the horseheadon the walking beam and the polish rod Another object ofthe invention isto insert thebearing member .in the end of a, walking beam.

Another object of the invention is to provide commodate itself for alignment of 'the parts y Still another object of the invention is to pro-. vide a twin crank bearing assembly equipment. l v Still another object of the invention is to provide a bearing support for pumping equipment connections which support is integral with that part of the equipment whichis being moved. 1 Another object of the invention :istoprovide a" walking beam assembly and driving anddriven connections therefor wherein thevstresses car riecl by the beam are applied below theneutral axis of the beam so as to place the lower portion of the beam in compression and the upper por tion of the beam in tension. H I p I Still another object of the invention is; to provide an opening in a unitary walking beam or pumping jackconstruction which opening is to receive the bearing unit. Other and further objects of theinventionwill a universal polish rod connection which will ac-r ionpum i tionis considered in connection with theaccome Danying drawings'wherein: I

Figkl is a side elevation of thedriving' end of a walking-beam provided with an opening to receive the'bearing constructionand illustrating a pitman rod connected thereto.:1r. I

Fig; 2 is an end view looking. at the construc-' 7 tion inFig. 1'. p Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the driven end of the walking beam and showing the horseehead, bearing connection and the polish rod :hanger.

Fig. 4 is an end view looking at the construc-v tion oiFig. 3."

Fig. .-5"is a diagrammatic view illustrating the general assembly'of the parts. r

'isanlenlar'ged detail view partly in sec-v tionaillu'strating the arrangement of inserting the bearingthrough the platewhich'is formed integral with the beam.

'of Fig. 8.

Fig; 12 is. a sideelevationof the power end of the-'beam showing a modified arrangement for attaching the bearingtheret ga 7 V 4 Fig. 13 .is; an. end view of. the construction in Fi .12. 1 p v In Fig. 5the general assembly. of one arrangement of pumping equipmentis. ;.shown,-, wherein the powerr unit ,isillustrated ;at 2, the-Samson post at 3,the walking beamzat' 4, and thecenter I iron 5 uponwhichithe walking beam is' pivoted. The powerunit'has the usual crank construction 6, the: counterbalance weights, 1, and a pit-; man connection 8: This pitman is in turn connected to the walking beam by the bearing-l0 so as to, effect. oscillation of the beam 4.. In order that; reciprocationmay be imparted to the polish rod ,a horse-head i is'jconnected. t th ,driven end of the beamandia-l-bearing J12 .trans-fl "mits the power to. the .polish rod hanger. 13; While a walking beam 4; has .been illustrated it,

istofbe. distinctly understood, that thepitman lit . Figs. 1 and ;2 -..buthaving-.axcrossbeam in order 8 may be connected to any desired type of pump-' ins ja k. y means-91] th she in 1.0 an h u;

power from such jack transmitted to a pull rod or other mechanism for transmitting the power to the well.

The invention is particularly directed to the combination of the bearing and its assembly and relationship with regard to its supporting structure. In Fig. 1 the walking beam 4 is a standard type of I beam, as seen in end elevation in Fig. 2, and comprises the upper flange 23, the lower flange 2|, and the web '22. At the power end of this beam an angular reenforcing plate 23'has been welded to the lower flange 2i and a cross 'plate 24 has been welded to the transverse portion of this plate 23 while the web 22 has been 'reenforced with the cross member 25. An end plate 26 has also been welded to the beam and, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the plates 24 and 25 extend below the flange 2 I. Between these plates is positioned the supporting web 2'! so that it is below the neutral axis of the beam 4. This'supporting web 21 has an opening therethrough into which the bearing l 0 may be inserted. This construction of forming the opening 28 in the web 2! is of importance because in this manner the bearing is firmly and rigidly attached to an integral portion of the beam 4 and at a point below the beam so that as the pitman rod 8 moves downwardly it will exert a pull on the power end of the beam. This pull downwardly on the left end, as seen in Fig. 5, will, of course, place the lower flange 2| ofthe beam in compression at each end of the beam between the bearing It and the center iron 5 on the left, and the bearing I2 and the center iron 5 on the right. This is, of course, the most practical manner of applying the stresses to a beam of this type because it provides an arch construction which is best adapted to withstand stresses of this type andapplies the stresses in a manner for which an I beam construction was originally designed. It might be noted at this time that with other walking beam constructions where I beams have been employed the bearings have usually been attached in the web of the I beam or on the upper flange thereof, which of course placed the stresses at a point above the neutral axis of the beam so as to place unnatural stresses upon the I beam in a manner for which it was never designed. The result of these constructions in actual practice has been the breaking and bending of the I beams or the necessity. of providing an exceptionally heavy construction.

In'Fig. 6 theparticularsconstruction of the bearing assembly and the manner in which it is afiixed to the power end of the pumping equip ment isshown. The opening 28 through the plate 21 which is in turn fixed to the beam is of such a "size that the shaft 33 and the bearing housing or bushing 3| may be passed therethrough. This bushing or bearin'g housing 31 is of peculiar construction. in that it is of a length to support the bearing liner 32 so as to provide suflicient bearing area for the shaft 3!]. Suitable packing 33 may be provided at the ends in order to retain lubricant and exclude'forei'gn material.

The bushing 3| is reenforced by the ribs 35 and has an arcuate surface 36 provided adjacent the center thereof. This arcuate surface is "provided so that this bearing housing may align itself during actual operation because in many instances the pitman rod '-8 and the power unit '2 may not be exactly beneath the plane of oscillation of the walking beam, or the Sa'm son post 3 may not be properly aligned with the power unit so that there is some off-center movement of the parts which must be provided for in order to furnish a bearing construction which will serve not only to pull down on the walking beam but to also push upwardly on the Walking beam, because in some instances more than one well may be connected to the driven end of the beam so that there is .apushpull efiect on the bearing connections.

In order to firmly support this bearing hous- In this manner a 1 universal support of the housing is provided so" that it may tilt about the center of the opening 28 in event there is any misalignment of the parts. A plurality of bolts 4! are passed through the plates 38 and 39 so as to clamp them firmly against the support plate 21. These plates may have a cutaway portion 42 which forms a shoulder against the plate 2'! and permits the plates 38 and 39 to closely approach each other at the center in order to form a greater bearing support for the housing 3|.

Figs. 1 and '2 show a yoke 45, which is fixed on the shaft 30 by means of the clamping bolts 46. The yoke 45 has suitable connections ll in order to have the pitman rod 8 rigidly connected thereto. It will be seen from Fig. 2 that in event there is any misalignment of the parts the bearing Hi can tilt relative ,to the plane of oscillation of the beam 4 without applying any undue stresses to the bearings.

In Fig. 3 the driven en'dof the walking beam is illustrated as carrying the bearing housing 38 in which-shaft 30 is journaled at a point below the lower flange 2i by means of thehorsehead II. This horse-head comprises the spaced side plates 50 and 51, as seen in Fig. 4, which project beyond the end of the beam and have connected thereto the support plate 52, which is equivalent of the support plate 21. on the power end of the beam. This plate 52 is reenforced with the end plate 53 and the cross plate 54 so that the bearing [-2 is positioned below the neutral axis of the beam and in fact below the lower flange 2| thereof. A block '65 has a slot 66 therein and is fixed to the walking beam 4 while a shaft 61. on the horse-head I l fits there in so as to absorb pull to the rod hanger. A toggle bolt 68 looks the head to the beam.

The construction, assembly-and arrangement of the bearing [2 is shown in Figs. 6 and 7 and it is supported in an opening in the plate 5-2,

which is similar to the opening 28 in the plate Tl. In Fig. 4 a yoke 55 is [shown which is quite similar to the yoke 45 of the Fig. 2 embodiment, except that the yoke 55 carries cross pin 53 upon which the arm 51 is pivoted in a plane at right'angles "to the shaft30. The yoke -55 has spaced legs '58 thereon which carry the ends of the cross pin 56 and are spaced apart sufficiently to receive the cross arm 51. The hanger rods 59 are passed over the upwardly directed ends '60 of the arm 51 so that an upward pull can be exerted on the rods '59 which are in turn connected to the polish rod, this entire assembly being designated as a polish rod hanger.

Figs. 8'to 11, inclusive, show a form of power connection for the pitman rods where a twin crank "power unit is used so as to balance the power which is applied to the walking beam 4. The bearing 10 is the same as previously described, the only difference being in the variation of the yoke 45 in order to adapt it to carry the cross beam I53. This cross beam is prefer ably of an I beam or box construction as seen in Fig. 11, and has'a yoke portion 6| which is connected to. the shaft 30 of .the bearing l0. This cross beam 63 .extends outwardly and upwardly at each side, as seen in Fig. 8, and carries a pivot shaft 62, which is. in a plane at right angles tothe shaft 30.

Apitman rod 8 is connected to each of these cross pins so that a double universal movement is possible with this construction, so that if there is inequality in the length of the pitmans 8 or their movement the cross beam 63 will be permitted to tilt somewhat due to the bearing H] and the pivoted shafts 62.

Figs. 12' and 13 show a slightly modified form of the supporting structure at the end of the walking beam and this construction may be applied in order to support either the bearing H3 or the bearing l2. In this form of the invention shown in Fig..12 the plate '23 is the same-as shown in'Fig. 1 but an end plate it has been affixed to the end of the beam l'with a reenforcing plate 'H thereon. Below this construction a bearing block 12 has been rigidly afiixed to the plate 23, 10 and the plate TI. This bearing block is rigidly fixed to the walking beam and has a support portion 13 thereon which is arranged to receive the bearing housing 3! shown in Fig. 6. A box cap 14 is arranged to interfit in the recess portion l5 .of the block 12 and to be held therein by the cap screws 16. The inner surface 11 ofcap M and the surface 18 of the block 12 are both arcuate in form, as seen in Fig. 13, in order to cooperate with the arcuate surface 36 on the bearing housing 3|. In this manner the bearing is firmly supported for tilting movement and positioned below the neutral axis of the beam 4.

l/Vhat is claimed is:

1. In a Well pumping apparatusa bearing connection to transmit power and accommodate misalignment of the parts comprising a shaft and a bearing therefor, said bearing including a bushing member, an arcuate surface thereon, means engaging .said surface to support said member including a pair of parallel anchor plates, and a plate transversely of said shaft and bearing and to which said means is connected whereby the bearing may have tilting movement;

2. A pumping connection of the characte described comprising a beam bearing assembly including a vertical plate to support said bearing, an opening in said plate, a bearing support in said opening composed of a pair of anchor plates fixed to said plate, and a bearing carried by said support, said support and bearing having arcuate contacting surfaces so that said hearing may tilt.

3. A walking beam for well apparatus comprising a beam, a vertical plate attached to the beam and extending therefrom, a bearing support fixed to said plate including a pair of anchor plates disposed on opposite sides of said beam plate to clamp a bearing member therebetween, a bearing member carried thereby, and a shaft in said bearing.

4. A hearing for use with well pumping: and

drilling apparatus comprising a shaft, a bearing therefor, a support for said bearing to position it for tilting movement, and a plate to carry said support and through which said bearing and shaft project, said support comprising a pair of anchor plates fitted into said carrying plate and fixed thereto.

5. A polish rod h'angerbearing including a cross shaft, a yoke thereon to carry the polish rod, a bearing for said shaft, an arcuate supportfor said. bearing, and a vertical plate to carry said support, said support including a-pair of spaced vertical'plates fixed to said first/vertical plate. 1 a H 6. A walking beam construction comprising an I beam, a plate carried atea'ch end thereof and projecting below the bottom flange of the beam in the same vertical plane as the web of the beam, a transverse opening thru each plate, a pair of anchor plates to be fixed one on each side of said .beain plate, and a bearing carried inf said anchor plates. I

7. A' vvalking "beam. construction comprising an I beam, a plate carried at each end thereof and projecting below the bottom flange of the beam in the same vertical plane as the web of the beam; a transverse opening' thru each plate, a pair of anchor plates to be fixed one on each side of said beam plate, and a' bearing tiltably carried tiltably 7 in each of said anchor plates, said bearing being adapted to exert a push-pull effect on said beam,

and to develop the fullbeam strength thereof. 8. A driving connectionfor walking beams comprising avertical plate construction fixed to the beam below the-lower flange of the beam, a bearing carried by said plate, a shaft said;

bearing transversely of said beam, a yoke on said shaft, a cross beam fixed to said yoke, cross pins transversely disposedat each end' of said crossbeam, and a pitman rod connected to each cross pin whereby universal pivoting to com-' 'pensate for misalignment is obtained.

9. A wellpumping unit including a driving and a driven connection, a member to which said conections are attached, a bearing at eachv point of connection, one of said bearings each in-,- cluding a vertical plate fixed on said member, a

bearing block fixed transversely to said plate, a bearing block cap adapted to be fixed to said block, a} bearing housing tiltably positioned in each housing, a bearing in the housing, and a cross shaft in each bearing.

.10. In a well pumpingapparatus a bearing connection to transmit power and accommodate misalignment of the parts comprising a shaft and a bearing therefor, said bearing including a bearing member having an arcuate surface thereon, a' bearing block, a bearing cap adapted to be fixed to said block, an arcuate surface on said cap and block to engage the surface on said bearing member, and means for supporting said bearing block whereby the shaft is mounted thereon including a vertical plate carried by the pumping apparatus.

11. A walking beam bearing connection comprising a vertical plate on the beam extending below the end thereof, a bearing block fixed to said plate, a bearing block cap adapted to be fixed 'to said block, arcuate surfaces on said block and cap,'and' a bearing adapted to be clamped in said connection by said cap. v

12. A pumping unit assembly including a walkingbeam, a-center iron pivot therefor, a polish rod pivot at one end of said beam, at power drive pivot atxthe other end of said beam, all three pivot for transverse tilting, a cross beam on said power pivot, a pitman rodpivoted at each end of said cross beam for swinging transversely of said walking beam, said tilting means and pitman pivots being in a horizontal plane through said power pivot whereby a universal centering is obtained to compensate for any misalignment of the parts. I

13. In a walking beam and doublepitinan rod assembly, a cross beam, a pivot shaft disposed transversely at each end of raidv cross beam to connect the pitman rods thereto, a rock shaft for said cross beam carried by said Walking beam, said cross beam beingso constructed and arranged that said pitman rod pivot shafts are in a horizontal plane passing axially through said cross beam rock shaft. l

14. A pumping unit bearing connection including a beam member, a vertical plate fixed to said member and extending below said member at the endthereof, a bearing block formed in said plate transversely of the plate, a bearing cap, means to attach'thecap to said block, arouate supporting surfaces in said block and cap, and a bearing to be tiltably received and held on said surfaces. v

l5. Ina walking beam assembly, a walking beam, at center iron bearing below said beam, a pitman rod connecting cross beam, a bearing connecting said cross beam to the walking beam, said bearing connecting said cross beam for turning about a horizontal axis parallel to said center iron bearing and spaced substantially the same distance below said walking beam, and a load connection at the other end of said beam spaced substantially the same distance below said Walking beam and also parallel to said center iron bearing whereby the strength of the beam in compression and tension may be developed.

16. In a walking beam assembly, a walking beam, a center iron bearing below said beam, a pitman rod connecting cross beam, a bearing connecting said cross beam to the walking beam, said bearing connecting said cross beam for turning about a horizontal axis parallel to said center iron bearing and spaced substantiallythe same distance below said walking beam, and a load connection at the other end of said beam spaced substantially the same distance below said walking beam and also parallel to said center iron bearing whereby the strength of: the beam in compression and tension. may be developed, and a pitman connection hearing at each end of said cross beam,,said last bearings being in the same plane but transversely of said cross beam bearing.

17. A Walking beam horsehead construction to removably position the polish rod bearing below the beam, comprising spaced plates carried by thebeam at each side and parallel to the web of the beam, a vertical plate carried. in depending position between said spaced plates, abearing carried by said vertical plate and a polish rod hanger connected to said bearing.

W'ALTER C. TROUT. ERNEST M..TOLI 1EF'SON. 

